So they all lived with Dylan’s decision in relative silence. Dylan couldn’t help wondering if Paul James had made the same kind of commitment to Kelsey for all the right reasons, then spent months of hell second-guessing himself before finally breaking and following her to Texas. Dylan wanted to believe he was a better man because he’d never put Kit through the kind of pain Kelsey was enduring now, but who knew how close he’d come to breaking his vow without realizing it? Those surreptitious visits had certainly crossed the line, albeit not as dramatically as what Paul had done.
Then came another nagging doubt. What if Kelsey deserved what was happening? What if he’d completely misread the kind of person she was? What if she had forced Paul into relinquishing custody? Had she been holding something over his head? Was that the secret she was guarding so tenaciously? Maybe she’d even blackmailed him into giving up his son.
Sweet heaven, he was losing it. He’d been around Kelsey enough in the past forty-eight hours to know better. That wasn’t the kind of woman she was. His gut instincts about people were rarely wrong. He hadn’t even been wrong about Kit. She was a good woman, just all wrong for marriage to a man like him. As much as he’d wanted to blame her, even hate her, for the way things had turned out, he’d known the fault for their failed marriage was as much his as hers. Reason just wasn’t always enough to counteract bitterness.
He glanced up and realized he’d been staring blankly at Becky’s report for some time. The dispatcher was regarding him with blatant curiosity.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’d be a whole lot better if we could pick up a trail. Where’s Justin? Has he called in?”
“Right before you got here. He’ll be back in five minutes. He wants you to wait.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dylan said and poured himself another cup of coffee before sitting down to go over Becky’s list of motels one more time.
Justin came in moments later, looking frazzled and frustrated. “Nothing,” he muttered with disgust. “I’ve had men questioning everybody in the whole town and nobody saw anything yesterday. I’ve checked the flights from Miami coming into Dallas-Fort Worth yesterday. If Paul James was on one of them, he was using a pseudonym and paid cash. The rental-car people weren’t any help, either. He would have had to use his driver’s license to get a car and he didn’t.”
“Phony papers?” Dylan suggested.
“Or he drove from Miami.”
“On the off chance you’re right, let’s call the DMV in Florida and get his car registration,” Dylan said. “It’ll give us something to look for. I have a man in Tallahassee I’ve used before. I can call him. Then we can get Miami P.D. to take a look around Paul’s place there to see if the car’s still in the vicinity. You call the police and make the request official.”
Justin nodded, his expression brightening. “I’d give just about anything for an honest-to-God lead about now. Lizzy says Kelsey’s holding up okay, but the longer this drags on the more likely I’m going to have Grandpa Harlan down here busting my chops for not getting it resolved. Believe me, I do not need my grandfather getting a notion in his head to play cop.”
Dylan grinned. He could totally understand Justin’s concern. A powerful, strong-willed man like Harlan Adams, who wasn’t used to sitting on the sidelines and waiting, could make a policeman’s or a private investigator’s life miserable. It would be worse if they were related.
“Then let’s make those calls,” Dylan said, already reaching for the phone. While he waited for his contact to call back, he and Justin went over Becky’s list one more time to see if there was anything about any of the hotels and the guests they’d acknowledged that bore further checking.
A few minutes later, Dylan’s man in Tallahassee called back with the car description and tag number. Dylan passed the information to Justin, who called Miami police and requested assistance.
Dylan paced while they awaited a return call. It took a whole helluva lot longer than he would have liked, but when the news came back, it was good. There was no sign of Paul James’s car at his home or in the lot by his office. The police promised to check the airport lots within the next few hours and get back to them about that.
“For now we can work on the assumption that he drove that car here,” Justin said triumphantly, then bellowed, “Becky!”
“I’m right here, not in the next county,” she retorted from just outside the door.
“Call those hotels back and check to see if this tag number is on any car in their lots.” He added a description of the car, as well. “For all we know he could have put stolen plates on it by now.”
“Or stopped off and registered it in another state, if he’s planning on settling someplace new with Bobby,” Dylan said thoughtfully. “Damn. Have you called his employer in Miami?”
Justin nodded. “First thing this morning after we knew for sure he had Bobby. As far as his boss knew, Paul is just on a two-week vacation.”
Dylan couldn’t hide his surprise. “What did you make of that?”
“Either he was covering his tracks or he fully intends to return home in a couple of weeks.”
“He can’t go back with Bobby,” Dylan protested. “Does that mean he intends to give him back to Kelsey before he goes home?” He shoved away from the desk and started to pace again. “Is this some sort of temporary game with him?”
“I’d give anything to be able to get inside this guy’s head,” Justin said. “I can’t figure out if he’s got a screw loose, if he’s desperate, or if he’s just plain mean.”
“Or if he’s just a dad who misses his son,” Dylan said quietly.
Justin’s gaze narrowed. “You sound sympathetic. Whose side are you on here?”
“Kelsey’s, of course,” he said, but he couldn’t hide the defensive note in his voice.
“You sure of that? Because if you’re not, I’ll see to it you’re off the case and out of town before you know it.”
“Look, I’ll admit to having a custody issue of my own, but it’s not influencing how I handle this case. I’m on Kelsey’s side.”
“I sure as hell hope so,” Justin said, his tone and his steady gaze a warning.
“If that changes, you’ll be the second to know,” Dylan promised. “The first person I’ll tell is Kelsey.”
People kept coming and going. It was driving Kelsey just a little bit crazy. They all meant well. They all wanted to help, some by offering to join the search, some by bringing food for all the other people dropping by, some just by expressing their concern.
The one person she wanted to see, Dylan, hadn’t been by in hours. Nor had he called with any news. Lizzy had kept her from calling him by reminding her that he and Justin were doing their jobs.
“Leave them alone and let them work,” Lizzy said. “Now I am going to shoo everybody out of here and you’re going to get some rest.”
Before Kelsey could protest, Lizzy pointed her toward the stairs. “There’s a phone by the bed. If it rings, you’ll be able to grab it. If you can’t sleep, fine. At least close your eyes and rest. Otherwise, you’re going to collapse. The clinic’s going to be a madhouse when we open it again. I can’t afford to have the pediatrician out sick.”
Kelsey had finally started toward the stairs, but her head snapped back. “You closed the clinic?”
“Who was going to treat anybody? You and I are both here. People will just go to Garden City if there’s an emergency. That’s what they did before the clinic opened. Besides, I’m pretty sure my father has forbidden anyone to have a medical emergency while we’re in the midst of this crisis. You know how people around here listen to Harlan Adams.”
Kelsey chuckled. He very well might have. He would have been affronted if anyone dared to defy him, too. When her chuckle threatened to turn into hysteria, she knew Lizzy was right. She needed sleep.
Still, she went upstairs reluctantly. One of the reasons she’d avoided going to her room was because to get there she
had to pass Bobby’s. She hadn’t been sure she could bear to walk by it, knowing it was empty, that he might never see it again. Now, she dragged in a deep breath and paused in the doorway.
The room was exactly the way it had been when he’d disappeared, a mess. She smiled at the clutter, something she didn’t always do. She had bought a huge old trunk at a garage sale and painted it bright colors. It was meant to be a toy chest, but as far as she could tell nothing was in it.
Bobby’s favorite toys—and he had almost none that weren’t favorites to hear him tell it—were all over the floor, scattered under the bed, and piled on the colorful desk that had been one of his birthday gifts from Harlan Adams. Stuffed animals Bobby claimed to be getting too big for still seemed to find their way onto his bed. She went in and picked up his Pooh bear.
Well-worn from all the loving a little boy could give it, Pooh smelled of grass stains and orange juice and Bobby. The mixture of scents brought tears to her eyes and she sank down on the edge of the bed feeling lost. Had Bobby been able to sleep without his beloved bear? Had he asked for it? How had Paul consoled him? By buying him a replacement? Or just ordering him to be a big boy and forget Pooh? That sounded more like Paul.
Suddenly she was sobbing, hot, scalding tears of fury and betrayal this time. Clutching the fragile bear, she rocked back and forth, letting her tears roll down her cheeks until they soaked her blouse and eventually Pooh himself. He’d seen his share of tears before, she knew, and her own mixed with Bobby’s.
“Hey, hey, what’s this?”
She didn’t have to look up to know it was Dylan. His voice was becoming as familiar to her as her son’s. She felt the bed sink under his weight and the next thing she knew he had gathered her close, Pooh smushed between them. His murmured words of comfort were mostly nonsensical, but it was the sound of his voice that soothed, the strength of his embrace that gave comfort. She gave herself over to it, letting the tears flow.
“Oh, God, Dylan, what if I never see him again?” she whispered, her voice muffled against his chest.
“You will,” he vowed.
She blinked back tears and drew back to gaze at him. “You sound so sure. Has something happened?”
“We found out Paul’s car isn’t at his house or his office. Justin and I agree it could mean he drove here. We also found out he’s only taken a two-week vacation at work. He hasn’t quit.”
Kelsey stared at him mutely, trying to grasp the implications.
“Kelsey, did you hear what I said?”
She nodded. “I just don’t know what it means.”
“It means we not only have Bobby and Paul to look for, but a specific car. We have police all over the state checking hotel and motel parking lots and registration books. We also think it could mean that Paul doesn’t intend to go on the run with Bobby, maybe not even to keep him.”
She felt the tight knot in her stomach ease ever so slightly. “He’ll bring him back, then,” she said, half to herself. Hadn’t she believed from the beginning that Paul had only done this to frighten her, to back her into a corner so she would help him get more pills? It all fit. She just had to wait him out, wait for his demand.
And then what? Would she give him a supply of narcotics? How could she do that in good conscience? And if she did it this time, would he simply come back again and again, using Bobby for leverage each time? No, she had to put a stop to it now, but how?
She looked at Dylan, noted how intently he was watching her, and realized just how certain he already was that there was more to this than she had told him. Could she tell him the rest? Did she dare? Would he help her keep the secret or feel compelled to turn Paul in to the authorities?
She was struck by a sudden thought. Paul was already in trouble with the police. He’d violated a court order when he took Bobby. That alone should be enough to put him in jail and keep him from coming after her for more pills. All they had to do was catch him and her problems would be over, for however long such a sentence lasted. Maybe jail would be the best for him. He’d have to get over his addiction in there. Still, the thought of Paul in jail sent a chill down her spine.
“Kelsey?”
She glanced at Dylan. “What?”
“What is going on in that head of yours? I can practically see the wheels turning.”
“I was just thinking about the future,” she said, which was honest as far as it went.
“Oh?”
“Will Paul go to jail?”
“Most likely.”
“For how long?”
Dylan shook his head. “I’m not certain. If he brings Bobby back on his own, it would probably help.”
“What if I didn’t press charges?”
Dylan stared at her, clearly shocked. “Why the hell would you not press charges?”
“Because…” She searched for an explanation that made sense. She wasn’t sure there was one. Paul had to pay. She knew that, but the thought of Bobby’s dad being in jail made her physically ill. What would Bobby think when he grew up and realized his mother was responsible for putting his father in prison? “I guess I’m just thinking of how Bobby would feel.”
“When he’s older, he’ll understand,” Dylan said. “Besides, there’s no choice. He violated a court order. You won’t really have a say in whether he’s prosecuted.”
“Not even if I say he had my permission?” she asked, grasping at straws. She knew she was being irrational, that she ought to want him punished, but she just wanted Bobby back. She wanted things to be normal again. It was what she had desperately wanted when she’d moved to Texas, a normal life with her son. She had known then she was taking a risk by making her deal with a man hooked on pills, but it had seemed worth it. Getting out with Bobby had been all that mattered.
Dylan’s unflinching gaze remained on her face. “What’s really going on, Kelsey? What are you afraid of?”
“I told you, I’m afraid for Bobby, how he’ll react to all of this.”
Dylan shifted away from her then, his expression blank. Kelsey realized that once more he didn’t believe her. She also thought she detected something else in his reaction: hurt. He was hurt, probably disappointed, too, that she didn’t trust him with the whole truth.
She hadn’t thought she could be any more miserable than she had been ever since Bobby had disappeared, but she was. She felt as if she had let down yet another person in her life. Dylan had been a stranger just a few short days ago, but she already knew that under different circumstances he was someone she would like, someone who deserved better than what she was giving him.
She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, felt the muscle bunch beneath her fingers. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“For?”
She shook her head. “Just sorry.”
He caught her gaze, held it, then sighed. “Yeah, whatever.”
A moment later, he was gone. Kelsey shuddered, feeling a sudden chill in the air that had nothing to do with the air-conditioning. When she’d left Paul, she had made a solemn oath to herself to live without regrets. Now they were piling up faster than she could count them.
Chapter Six
More than ready to be doing something useful, Dylan got as far as the kitchen after walking out on Kelsey. He fully intended to hit the road and join the door-to-door search of hotels and motels, but Lizzy stopped him.
“What’s going on? You look mad enough to chew nails.”
He jerked his head toward the stairs. “Your friend up there is keeping things from us.”
He noticed that Lizzy looked vaguely guilty and seized on it. “You know what she’s hiding, don’t you? Justin figured you would.”
Her chin shot up with a typical touch of Adams defiance. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not a fool, Lizzy. Don’t you go making the same mistake that Kelsey’s making.”
“Dylan, of course I don’t think you’re a fool.” She plunged her hands deep into a batch of bread dough, c
oncentrating fully on the task for a moment before she met his gaze again. “Look, this isn’t my story to tell.”
“Not even to save Bobby?” he asked quietly. “That’s what this comes down to, you know. That little boy’s life could depend on one of you coming clean with me or with Justin.”
That said, he walked out and let the back door slam behind him. Maybe the message would sink in, maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe she’d pass it on to Kelsey, maybe she wouldn’t. Either way, he’d delivered the warning. It was all he could do, he concluded with frustration. He couldn’t beat the rest of the story out of either one of them. He felt his lips curve in a grim smile. He’d leave that to Justin.
Almost an entire day had passed without a single word from Paul and Bobby. Back in the kitchen again after a few hours of restless sleep, Kelsey stared at the phone until her eyes hurt from the strain.
“Eat,” Lizzy commanded, putting a loaf of warm bread on the table along with freshly churned butter from the housekeeper at White Pines and a pot of blackberry jam. “I’ll have some scrambled eggs for you in a sec.”
Kelsey regarded her bleakly. “I’m not hungry.”
“Tell someone who cares. Eat, anyway. You have to keep your strength up.”
Kelsey stared at Lizzy, shocked by her cool tone. “What’s wrong, Lizzy?”
“Oh, not much. A few hours ago I was reamed out by the man we brought in to find Bobby. He all but accused me of standing in the way of Bobby’s safe return.”
Kelsey stared, openmouthed. “Dylan blamed you?”
“Not for the kidnapping, but for keeping something from him. I wonder where he got the idea there was some big, dark secret?” she asked, staring pointedly at Kelsey.
“Well, I certainly didn’t tell him,” she retorted, then sighed. “It’s just that the man can read me like a book. It’s uncanny. Either he’s a terrific private eye or…” She stumbled over what she’d been about to say.
Dylan and the Baby Doctor Page 7
